Piper PA 28R-201 N3783M

Summary

On 6 August 2016 at about 15:45 local time, a Piper PA 28R-201 registered N3783M, operated by Northhampton Aeronautics, was involved in an accident near Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 August 2016 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Northampton, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Northampton Airport (7B2)

Coordinates

42.3281, -72.6111

Aircraft

Piper PA 28R-201

Registration

N3783M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Northhampton Aeronautics

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Northampton → Northampton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA280

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the alternate air valve plate hinge pin, which caused the alternate air valve plate to lodge in the fuel servo assembly, which resulted in a restriction of air to the fuel servo assembly, a loss of engine power, and an off-airport emergency landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor indicated that, during a simulated soft-field takeoff on an instructional flight, the airplane's climb performance noticeably deteriorated. As the airplane reached about 150 ft above ground level, the engine started to lose power. The flight instructor chose to make an emergency off-airport landing, during which the right wing and firewall were substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the alternate air valve plate was lodged in the air intake and blocked the fuel servo. Further examination revealed that the hinge pin that held the alternate air valve plate was worn completely through, which caused the plate assembly to separate from its mounting location and lodge in the fuel servo. This obstruction likely restricted the intake air to the engine and thus led to the loss of engine power on takeoff. Examination of the alternate air valve plate revealed that it had been altered from its original design, although there were no maintenance records documenting the alteration. The investigation could not determine whether this alteration contributed to the failure of the alternate air valve plate's mounting mechanism.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.